The Christmas Affair
by crochetaway
Summary: Hermione Granger is living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working for Nott Industries and trying to get over her last disastrous relationship in Britain. Luckily her colleagues, Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott, decide to help her out. Oneshot. Complete.


**A/N: This was written for the Hermione's Holiday Hideaway fest hosted by the Hermione's Haven FB group.**

 **I had a prompt to follow which was: Pairing - Hermione/Blaise/Theo; Location - Santa Fe, New Mexico; Word Prompt - skates**

 **Grammarly and the Hemingway App were my beta's. All mistakes are mine.**

 **Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

* * *

 **November 2010**

Hermione Granger sighed as she went another lap around the ice skating rink. She was supposed to meet a blind date here, someone not from wizarding Britain. Half the reason she moved out to Santa Fe, New Mexico was so that she could get away from the dating scene in wizarding Britain. She sighed again as she did another loop and realized she was being stood up. She glanced at her watch, she'd been here for forty minutes already, waiting for this blind date. Well, Hermione liked ice skating, so she decided to stay the hour. Maybe her date just got the time wrong?

She skated around, weaving in and out of the couples holding hands and the children with their parents still learning to skate. Winter was Hermione's favorite time of year, even if she was celebrating Christmas on her own for the first time ever. Hopefully, it wouldn't be completely on her own. She had moved out here to work for Nott Industries and she assumed a few of her coworkers would be up for celebrating. The ones who weren't traveling, at least. She knew she wasn't the only expat from wizarding enclaves working at the stateside headquarters of Nott Industries.

Several more twirls around the rink and Hermione glanced at her watch again a full hour had gone by. And no sign of the blind date. She decided to go home, he obviously wasn't coming. Brad Reeder, now had a black mark next to his name. He was an American wizard her colleague Sheila knew and thought would be great for her. Hermione rolled her eyes, she really had to stop letting people set her up. She clearly hadn't learned her lesson after her last disastrous relationship in Britain.

Hermione sighed as she left the ice and headed to the bleachers to remove her skates. She hadn't brought the pair she owned with her. She didn't think she'd need them in the deserts of North America, but even here, people enjoyed ice skating in the winter. Santa Fe did get a little chilly in the winter; it was located in the foothills and was over two kilometers in elevation. Hermione turned in her skates and headed out of the ice rink. She pulled her sweater tighter around her as she walked around the building, intent on apparating back to work. She had a few things she could finish if she wasn't going to get her date.

* * *

 **December 2010**

"Come on, Hermione!" Blaise Zabini said excitedly as he tugged Hermione from behind her desk and to standing.

She teetered a moment in her high heels before Blaise caught her around the waist and steadied her. Since Santa Fe was more Muggle than magical, Hermione had taken to wearing Muggle business dress to work. She smoothed her pencil skirt, even as Blaise pulled her jacket from the rack by her door and swung it around her shoulders.

"Blaise, really I have a bit more to do," Hermione complained even as Blaise dragged her out of her office. He snagged her duffle bag on the way out, she was packed and ready to go but had intended to work a few more hours.

"Doesn't matter. Nott Industries is closed for the next two weeks! It's Christmas! We have a cabin in the mountains, and a portkey to catch," Blaise said.

He stabbed the button for the lift all the while, holding Hermione's arm, preventing her from going back to her desk.

"Nott will be upset if I don't get these reports to him," Hermione said, tugging at her arm again with a frown on her face.

"Theo will be at the cabin waiting for us," Blaise replied.

Blaise was dark-skinned and knew how good he looked in royal blue, hence the reason he wore it all the time. His dark eyes crinkled as he smirked at her and Hermione couldn't help but soften her features into a smile back. Until she recalled what he just said.

"Wait, what?" Hermione asked.

"Theo's coming too," Blaise said simply, shrugging.

"I thought it was going to be just us," Hermione said quietly.

It's not that she didn't like Nott, in fact, she liked him a little too much. Theo Nott was exceedingly smart; he'd tied Hermione for nearly their entire Hogwarts career. Then they found themselves at the same University in Dublin, taking the same classes again. Both studying for their Mastery in Arithmancy and always they tied neck and neck for scores.

"Well, it'll be just the three of us," Blaise said brightly. "It'll be fun. And Theo won't care about those silly reports. It's a no-working vacation. Theo already told me, he headed to the cabin this morning to get it stocked."

"Oh," Hermione replied and bit her lip.

"Cheer up, Princess," Blaise smirked at her as the lift dinged and the doors opened. He guided her into the car and hit the button for the ground floor.

A short portkey later and Hermione found herself staring at a cabin covered in snow. She grinned. It was like a scene from a fairy tale. The cabin was high in the mountains with fir trees all around and someone had even taken the time to decorate the outside with Christmas lights.

"Home, sweet home!" Blaise called as he swept the cabin door open and led Hermione inside.

Inside to the right was a large Christmas tree all adorned in reds and golds. A huge fireplace stood opposite the tree, with lounge furniture scattered about. The cabin appeared to be one large great room with a kitchen near the back and a loft above them.

"Hello, Hermione, Blaise," Nott greeted. He was standing near the fireplace with a glass of firewhisky in hand. Nott looked good, he looked really good in dark slacks and an emerald green jumper. His hair was light brown and slightly wavy. It looked a bit disheveled as if he'd been running his hands through it.

"Hey, Theo," Blaise replied. Hermione nodded and looked around the cabin again. Her suspicions confirmed. There looked to only be one room. A door off to the left of the kitchen appeared to be the bathroom. Hermione climbed the spiral staircase that hid behind the Christmas tree and found herself in a one-room loft with the largest bed she'd ever seen in it. She descended the stairs.

"Er, guys?"

Blaise and Nott turned her way. Blaise too had a glass of firewhisky in hand.

"There's only one bed," Hermione commented.

She narrowed her eyes when it seemed Nott was trying to hide a smirk. Blaise at least kept a straight face.

"We're all adults," Blaise shrugged.

"And are you gentlemen?" Hermione asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I am," Nott replied. "Not sure about this one," he elbowed Blaise in the ribs.

Blaise mock scowled and Nott smirked in return.

"Ah, then you'll be taking the couch, while I take the bed then," Hermione raised an eyebrow at the pair of them.

"Maybe, we can negotiate that?" Blaise asked.

Hermione stepped forward and alleviated Blaise of his drink. She sipped at it and raised her eyebrow again, silently asking him to go on.

Blaise stepped closer to Hermione and tucked a curly strand that had fallen loose from her bun behind her ear. His fingers trailed down her neck, causing gooseflesh to break out all over her body. She shivered at his touch. It felt good, better than it should have, perhaps.

"See, the thing is Princess, I see the way you look at Theo," Blaise murmured quietly.

Hermione darted her eyes between Blaise and Nott. Nott looked almost as surprised as she did. Blaise slowly moved around her so that he was standing behind her and she had a clear view of Nott. Blaise gripped her hips, lightly as he continued speaking in her ear, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"You want him, right? You have wanted him, for a while now. Since University at least," Blaise crooned into her ear.

One hand traveled up from her hip to graze over her abdomen, barely touching the bottom of her breasts. Hermione felt breathless and couldn't take her eyes off of Nott who stood in front of her. His eyes were pale green and seemed to bore directly into her soul. He had a slight furrow to his brow as if he were thinking hard about something, and he too couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione. Or more accurately, off of where Blaise's dark hand traveled over Hermione's body.

"See how he looks at you? He wants you too, he told me," Blaise continued.

Hermione leaned her back into Blaise's firm chest, even as Blaise grasped her left breast more firmly. She moaned at the contact and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. When she opened them Nott was standing right in front of her, his hands down at his sides.

"Is it true?" Nott all but whispered.

Hermione nodded. She'd wanted Nott since before University if she was being honest. Ever since they had partnered on a project in their sixth year Arithmancy class back at Hogwarts, Hermione had harbored a crush on the man. There were always obstacles and Hermione hadn't felt comfortable making the first move.

Her nod was all the confirmation Nott needed, he leaned down and covered her lips with his own. The kiss was sweet and soft and as soon as Nott's tongue flicked out to taste her lips, it turned searing and hot. Nott swept his arms around her and crushed her to him as he delved one hand into her hair and tilted her head for a better angle. Hermione felt a second pair of hands settled on her hips. Blaise was still there. She pulled back from Nott and turned to look over her shoulder.

The look in Blaise's eye was all fire as he too leaned forward and captured her lips with his own. Nott began kissing down her neck and his fingers scrambled to open the buttons to her blouse.

Hermione sighed happily as she felt two sets of hands wander across her body. If this was how the next two weeks were going to go, Hermione was sure this would be the best Christmas yet.


End file.
